The idea for this project originated as I reflected on my two experiences succeeding long tenured pastors. What I intend to do with this project is to further develop the leadership model that I implemented as the new pastor of a 5,000 congregation. On my first Sunday in the pulpit, I announced to the church that I would be "leading from the CROSS". CROSS is an acronym: c=community exploration, r=relationship building, o=organizational assessment, s=spiritual leadership, s=seeking God's guidance. For each of this leadership domains, I articulated what I would be doing to get to know the church, the community and stay grounded in faith.

With this project, I intend to gather 7-10 pastors who have made similar leadership transitions. These pastors will be diverse with respect to gender, ethnicity, denomination and geography. With the support of wise facilitators, like Greg Jones and Dave Odom, I will spend a day or two with these pastors collecting stories associated with their transition experiences. I want to know how they explored their communities, built relationships, and facilitated organizational assessment. I am certain that no two pastors did this exactly the same, so I anticipate a rich dialogue.

Once these stories are collected, I intend to reflect on my own experience of having followed two long tenured pastors (45 years and 26 years), and synthesize the stories along with leadership and organizational research to develop a "field guide" or a handbook that new pastors and their congregations can use as one tool to thrive in the midst of change.